Ladies finger/Bindi curry

Yet another Bindi dish. This one you can make as a side dish for Roti and rice. Wonder how this beautiful vegetable got ladies finger as its name! 


Ladies finger/Okra/Bindi curry 

Ingredients


Bindi/ladies finger - 1/2 kg
Big onion - 2
Green chilly - 2
Ginger - a small piece

For frying

sunflower oil - 2 tbsp
jeera - 1 tsp
red chilly - 1 broken

For the masala

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Red chilly - 1/2 tsp
Jeera powder - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Salt for taste

Method of Preparation 

Wash and spread the bindi on a absorbent cloth.  Let the water completely be absorbed. Now trim the edges of bindi and cut into small pieces.

Peel onion and cut into very small pieces. Chop green chilly and ginger. Keep a pan heat it and pour oil add jeera to release aroma add red chilly and saute. Now add green chilly and ginger and y leaves. Now add onion and saute for a while, let it become translucent. Now add bindi and turmeric powder. Stir occasionally. Allow the bindi to cook well. Add red chilly powder, jeera powder, coriander powder and adjust salt.   Allow all the masalas to mix well with bindi. Make sure bindi is well cooked and all masalas evenly coated over individual pieces. Serve hot with freshly made roti/rice.

Rice Kheer ( Patali Gur)

Hello,

A refreshing Tuesday morning. I am sure on Monday Kannadigas world over have celebrated Ugadi - New Year. Wishing you all great health and prosperity. 

Yes, yes have I will share a sweet dish! 

Have you heard about pattali gud? Gud means jaggery you guessed it right. Pattali - dates!

Its is a delicacy. The sweet taste of pattali gud add a special taste to the Rice Kheer.  Mouth watering already you must be saying.. Well let us learn how to make this delicious kheer.

Rice Kheer

Ingredients

Raw rice - 1/2 cup

Milk - 2 liters (use whole cream milk)

Pattali Gud - 1 cup (smash it and melt it by adding 1/2 a cup of water - strain and keep aside)

elachi - 2 (crushed)

Method of Preparation

Wash and add 2 cups of water to the raw rice and pressure cook for 2 whistles. In a thick bottom vessel or pan pour whole cream milk and allow it to boil. Reduce the flame and allow the milk to reduce. You can see the colour of milk changes from yellow to mild pink/rose. Now add cooked rice. If you wish you can smash the rice using a flat spoon. Add elachi powder. Off the stove remove from fire. Let the Kheer reach room temperature.  Now add the prepared pattali gud liquid. Mix well. Serve as a dessert.

Chef's tip : You can add sugar in milk if pattali gud is not available. 

 (Now the trick:) leave a small steel cup/spoon inside the milk. (Why? Here you go it will prevent the milk from over flowing !) Little science here 

Source Wiki answers.

( when milk is boiled, the dissolved gases move to the surface of the liquid in the form of bubbles. But they cannot burst to the atmosphere easily because of the layer of fat on milk. The bubbles moving to the top continue to push the fat layer due to their kinetic energy. They cannot burst since they the pressure inside the bubble is less than that of the outside. When the fat layer surpasses the vessel walls, it results in the overflowing of milk. )

Radish Sambhar, Beans and carrot thoran

Hello,  

Good morning. Thank you folks for sharing my recipes to your dear ones. Its an honour to me.  Today I will share with you yet another delicious Sambhar made with Radish (Mooli) We make sambhar out if a number of vegetables, we have baby onion and muringakai (drum stick) sambhar, pumpkin, avarakkai, white pumpkin sambhar, Bindi sambhar and the list is endless! In Sambhar also there are two varieties one with coconut(Tenga arachuvitta sambhar) another without coconut.(Podi potta sambhar)

You must be wondering in all my recipes I pressure cook tamarind. The reason is very simple when you add water and pressure cook tamarind you can extract good amount of pulp and you have to use less tamarind!

Radish Sambhar

Ingredients

Radish(mulanki or mooli) - 4 (wash, peel and cut into circles)
Tamarind - a gooseberry size (cook and extract pulp)
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
salt as required

Tuvar dal - 1/2 cup
Soak in water add turmeric and pressure cook for 2 whistles) 

For the tadka

Ghee/sunflower oil - 2 tsp
mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
hing powder - 1/4 tsp
meethi seeds - 1/2 tsp
curry leaves - a few

Method of Preparation

In two separate vessels(use cooker vessels) cook tuvar dal and raddish by adding a little turmeric. In the vegetable vessel itself keep tamarind in a small bowl add enough water. Allow it to cook for 2 whistles. 

Remove the tamarind and extract pulp. Keep aside. 

In katchatti add cooked mooli, salt and tamarind pulp. Mix two tsp of sambhar powder allow it to mix well. Now add cooked tuvar dal. Allow the sambhar to boil for 2 - 3 minutes.

In a small pan pour ghee add mustard(allow it to splutter) and methi, add hing powder, one broken chilly and curry leaves. Pour in the prepared sambhar. 



Beans and carrot thoran

Ingredients

Beans - 1/2 kg
carrot - 2
coconut - 2 tbsp
green chilly - 2

For the tadka

Sunflower oil - 2 tbsp
mustard seed - 1 tsp
urad dal - 1/2 tsp
curry leaves - a few
red chilly - 1 broken

Method of Preparation

Wash trim and chop beans into small pieces. wash, peel and chop carrot. In a thick bottom pan pour oil. Add mustard seed(allow it to splutter) urad dal and broken chilly. Add curry leaves. Now add chopped vegetables. Mix well add salt allow it to cook in high flame. stirring occasionally. In a mixer grind grated coconut and green chilly. Add this to the cooked vegetables mix well and off stove. Serve hot with raddish sambhar. 

Tamarind pulp extraction

Vathal Kozhambu and Aloo podimas

This vathal kozhambu is cooked in marriage functions and when properly made can be kept for a long time in the fridge.

This recipe is time consuming and it's worth trying. This recipe is for serving 15 people.  You can reduce the quantity according to the number of people for your cooking. 

Kalyana vathal kozhambu 

Gingly oil 1/4 kg

Coriander seeds -100 grams

Dry red chillies -50 grams

Manathakkali/sundakai vathal-2 tbsp

Black peppercorns-10 grams

Fenugreek-10 gram

Tuvar dal -2 tbsp

Urad dal -2 tbsp

Mustard seeds-1 tsp

Chilli powder-2 tbsp(kashmiri)

Fennel seeds - 1tsp

Jaggery a small piece 

Turmeric-1 tsp

Raw rice - 2 tbsp

Salt as desired

Heeng one small piece 

Curry leaves a few leaves 

Small onion 200 grams

Garlic 200 grams

Tomato 4

Green chillies 5 grams 

Coconut 1 cup

Tamarind 100 grams

Tips 

In half litre water soak the tamarind and extract the pulp. Keep aside

Keep the onions and garlic in small bowls.

Grate coconut and keep it ready, add fennel seeds and grind it into a paste. 

In a plate keep all the above Ingredients ready 

Method 

In a big kadai, add raw rice, coriander seeds,  red chillies 25 grams, black peppercorns, half the fenugreek,  tuvar dal, urad dal, turmeric powder,  curry leaves,  heeng piece and in slow flame dry roast until the aroma is emitted.  Spread in a plate and let it come to room temperature.  Powder it and keep aside.

In the same kadai pour 150 grams of gingly oil, add mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds and broken red chillies. Once it splutter, add manathakalli and sundakai vathal,  add onions, garlic,  green chilies, curry leaves, and tomato,  cook it till soft and you will notice it very well cooked.  Now add the coconut fennel paste, cook further for 10 minutes. It will become thick like halwa.

Now add red chili powder,  tamarind extract,  Jaggery, salt and bring to boil. 

You will see the oil is separated from the vathal kuzhambu and every Ingredient is nicely cooked and all the raw smell is gone. You can off the stove and add half of the vathal kuzhambu powder( we will use the other half when we repeat making vathal kozhambu) and mix well.  

Finally pour the rest of the oil and mix well.  You can store the vathal kuzhambu in glass bottles for a week on the kitchen counter and more than a month in the fridge.  Serve it as and when you need.

Variation 2

Let me share with you Vathal Kozhambu recipe with a lot of vegetables. We at our homes generally don't add small onions and garlic in vathal kuzhambu.  But add a lot of other vegetables. 

Ingredients

Drum sticks - 2 (cut into 3 inch pieces)

Brinjal 3 cut into four pieces 

10 bhindi cut into two inch long 
vathal - 2 tbsp(chundakay/marthankkali)
tamarind pulp (extracted from a gooseberry size)
turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Jaggery a small piece 
salt as required

For dry roast powder 

Chana dal - 2 tablespoon 
Tuvar dal -  2 tablespoon 
Black broken urad dal - 1 tablespoon 
raw rice - 1 tablespoon 

Peppercorns a few
kayam (hing) - a small  piece
Dry red chilly - 10
curry leaves - a few

for the tadka

gingly oil - 1 tsp
mustrd seeds - 1/2 tsp

Curry leaves a few 

Method of Preparation

1. Pressure cook tamarind using a glass of water for two whistle, off stove and extract tamarind pulp. Keep aside.

2. In a small kadai dry roast rice,tuvar dal, black peppercorns, heeng,black broken urad dal, curry leaves and red chilly till golden brown. Remove from stove cool and coarsely powder using mixer. 

In kalchatti pour a glass of hot water add drum sticks, turmeric powder and salt allow it too cook till tender. In a small pan pour a tsp of ghee/gingly oil add vathal and roast till its crispy. Pour the vathal into drumsticks. Now add tamarind pulp. Reduce the flame allow the vattal to mix well with tamarind pulp. Add more water if needed as we are going to allow the vathal kuzhambu to boil and reduce the quantity. Add crushed jaggery. Allow it to boil for another 10 minutes. Adjust salt. Add vathal kuzhambu powder.  Mix well. Now keep a small pan pour gingly oil add mustard seeds allow it to splutter add on top of the prepared vathal kuzhambu. 

Variation

I used bhindi and brinjal and manathakalli for today's vathal kozhambu. It tastes really yummy. 

Aloo podimas

Ingredients

potato - 4 (cut into four pieces)
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
curry leaves a few
Salt as required

For frying
sunflower oil = 2 tsp
mustard seed = 1 tsp
urad dal = 1.2 tsp
red chilly - 1 broken
green chilly - 2 chopped
ginger - 1 tsp finely chopped


Method of Preparation

In pressure cooker pour enough water add potato cubes and salt. Cook for 3 whistles. Off stove remove potatoes and peel off the skin. Now using  a mathu or fork gently smash the potatoes. In a heated deep kadai pour oil add mustard allow it to splutter add urad dal, red chilly. Now add green chilly, ginger and curry leaves. Mix well its time to add smashed potatoes. Mix well reduce flame. Allow the potato to turn mild golden colour. Off the stove serve hot with rice vattal kozhambu and roasted papad. 

In our palghat cooking with vattal kozhambu we also prepare plain moong dal. Add a little salt to moong dal 1/2 cup and cook in kalchatti adding just enough water for cooking. Serve with vattal kozhambu.

Jack fruit - Chakakuru mezhukupuratti and iddi chakka poduthuval. chakka erissery

Tomorrow I will come up with some interesting Jack fruit recipes. In India we use raw and well as ripe jack fruit. Even seeds are used to make tasty curry. 


Do you have Jack fruit in your country? Have you tasted the fruit? Do you like it? Once in Malaysia I tried to taste Durian. Oh my God the smell of the fruit was so strong! But Jack fruit is tasty, yummy and I love it.

This is jack fruit tree and the fruit when cut look like this. Have you seen it? In summer now in Bangalore we are getting ripe golden yellow jack fruit. 

 

                                                 seeds

Ripe jack fruit cut into half

Jack fruit seed curry 

Ingredients

Jack fruit seed - 25
turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
salt as required

coconut grated - 1 tbsp
green chilly - 1
curry leaves - a few

For frying

coconut oil - 1 tbsp
mustard seed - 1 tsp
urad dal - 1/2 tsp
red chilly - 1 broken

Method of Preparation

1. Wash and smash jack fruit seed either using a coconut, or in mortar and piston. Remove the thick white skin using a knife. Cut into thin long pieces. Pressure cook using just enough water by adding turmeric and salt for three whistles.

In a kadai pour coconut oil, allow it to heat add mustard seeds(Let it splutter)urad dal and red chilly.  Add cooked jack fruit seeds to it and slow down the flame. Allow the seeds to roast in slow flame. Smash coconut and green chilly in mortar and piston. Add this to the roasted jack fruit seed. Its very nutritious and tasty. 


Iddi chakka thoran ( Baby jack fruit curry)

 

Ingredients

Iddi chakka  - 1
turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp(optional)
salt - as required

For frying

Coconut oil - 1 tbp                                          
red chilly - 2
mustard seed - 1 tsp
urad dal - 1 tsp

coconut - 2 tbsp
green chilly - 1
curry leves - a few

Method of Preparation

Cut the outer skin and remove the middle thick part (mukku) from jack fruit. Cut into big large pieces. Steam it using salt and turmeric in pressure cooker for three whistles. I have used steaming vessel.  (I will post the pictures the day I make it) Remove from pressure cooker smash the jack fruit into small florets using a matthu( or potato smasher) 

In a mixer make a coarse paste of coconut and green chilly. 

In a kadai pour coconut oil add mustard(let it splutter) urad dal and red chilly. Add jack fruit florets and mix well. Now add coconut paste and mix well. Garnish with curry leaves.

Chakka Erissery

Chakka erissery (Ripe jack fruit curry)

Chakka (ripe) - 20
chakkakuru (jackfruit seed) - 10
turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
salt as required
jaggery - a small piece

For coconut paste

coconut - 2 tbsp
channa dal - 1 tsp
urad dal - 1 tsp
black pepper - 1 tsp
red chilly - 2
Byadgi chilly - 2
curry leaves - a few
coriander - 1/2 tsp
jeera - 1/4 tsp

Coconut oil - 1tsp
mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
curry leaves - a few

Method of  Preparation

Cut and deseed jackfruit. Chop the jackfruit into small pieces. In mortar and piston smash jackfruit seeds, peel the outer skin and keep aside. 

Dry roast coconut, channa dal, urad dal, black pepper, red chilly, byadgi chilly, curry leaves, coriander seeds and jeera till golden brown. Add little water and make a coarse paste.  

Pressure cook jack fruit seeds for two whistles.

Pour a glass of water bring to boil and add chopped jack fruit, turmeric, salt and jaggery.Allow the jack fruit to cook till tender. Add cooked jack fruit seed. Now add the coconut paste and bring to boil. Off the stove. Pour coconut oil in a heated small pan add mustard seeds and allow it to splutter add curry leaves pour on prepare chakka erissery.

Evening snack- Bajji and Garama garam chai(Tea)

Evening snack

Summer evenings, cool breeze and bright sunlight. How about a yummy snack for the beautiful evening?

Bajji and garama garam chai(Tea)

Bajji

Ingredients

Raw banana - 1
Garam flour(Besan) - 1 cup
salt as required
red chilly powder - 1/2 tsp
hing powder - 1/4 tsp
garam masala - 1/4 tsp
chopped coriander leaves - 2 tsp

Sunflower oil - for frying

Method of Preparation

Wash, trim and peel raw banana, slice into very thin pieces. In another bowl add besan, salt, hing powder, red chilly, garam masala and chopped coriander leaves. Add water and make a thick paste. 
In a bottom thick kadai pour sunflower oil allow it to heat, Now carefully take each raw banana piece and dip in batter and put in the hot oil. Allow it to turn into golden brown colour. Use a perforated ladle and remove from the kadai. Use a paper napkin in the plate you remove the bajji. It will absorb the excess oil from bajji. Enjoy your bajji with tomato ketchup or coriander chutney.

Variation : You can use potato, brinjal or onion instead of raw banana.


Chai (Tea) (Kadak chai)

Water - 2 glass
Boiled milk - 1/2 cup
sugar - 2  tsp
Tea powder - 2 1/2 tsp (I have dried ginger, crushed it and added that to tea powder)

Method of preparation

Pour 1 glass of water into a tea sauce pan allow it to boil.  Add milk, tea powder and sugar. Reduce the flame and close the tea sauce pan for a while. Reduce the flame into minimum. Allow the tea leaves to cook well in milk and water. Off the stove. Use a strainer and strain your chai into cups. Serves two.

Goddess Annapoorneshwari

Yes we made it! Just now we made it to 1000 views from all my lovely readers. Thank you folks! Its celebration time!

May goddess Annapoorneshwari bless all of you. She is goddess of food according to Indian mythology. 

Moringai ellai adai (Drum sticks leaves adai)

I bought two small bunches of moringai leaves from Jayanagar market. Yes here we have to buy! At home in Trivandrum we have long big trees, I like the leaves, flower and drumsticks. I am posting how the drumsticks leaves look for my viewers from all over the world. Of course you may have this beautiful tree somewhere in your country. I have seen in Vietnam the tree will be plenty in province but I don't think drumsticks leaves are used in Vietnamese cuisine.  

But in India we use especially Moringaikay  in south more than North Indian cuisine. I have once tasted a curry made out of drumsticks and potato curry made in north Indian style. It was tasty. 

The toughest job to remove tender moringai (drumsticks leaves) from its stem, this need lot of patience! I have just finished doing it. As I have plans to make Moringai ellai adai for tomorrow breakfast. I have soaked a cup of red rice and a cup glass of boiled rice. Have to grind it after 3 to 4 hours. 

I will share with you the simple recipe for moringai ellai adai.

Moringai ellai adai(drum stick leaves adai)

Ingredients

Rad boiled rice - 1 cup

boiled rice/Idly rice - 1 cup

coconut - 1/2 cup

salt as required

drum stick leaves - 1 bunch(wash, remove leaves from stem)

gingly oil - for frying adai

Method 

*Wash and soak red rice and boiled rice together for about 3 to 4 hours. Grind in mixer add salt and coconut. 

*Keep it in room temperature for about 3 hours, and keep it in refrigerator. As its summer time the batter should not be left out for long it may become sour. 

*Next day morning take the batter out and add muringay tender leaves. Mix well. 

* Use a thick dosa tawa, I use iron dosa kallu. It can be heated and will hold the heat which is required for crispy adai. 

Heat the dosa tawa(kallu) and pour one big ladle full of adai batter spread it evenly into round shape. 

*Don't make it too thin nor too fat. Make it just medium thickness. Pour gingly oil on the sides and put a tiny hole in the middle and pour a little oil for better cooking and crispness. 

*Allow the adai to cook very well turn it and make sure adai is crispy and well cooked before removing from the dosa pan.  

Tempted to try?

Serve hot with tomato chutney, liquid jaggery, jack fruit jam, jaggery. 

Breakfast - Puttum Payarum (Traditional Kerala special) Kadala curry

Hello, 

I made Kerala Breakfast today morning. Puttum, Payarum(Green whole moong dal) Its the most healthy breakfast. Balanced with carbohydrates and protein. 

Puttu

Double horse (Puttu podi) rice powder - 400 grms (You can prepare it by soaking boiled/raw rice and pound it)

Grated coconut - 1 cup

salt as required

water to make soft puttu podi

Method of Preparation

In a large bowl add rice powder and salt. Sprinkle water and keen kneading it using circular motion.  We have to make rice granules. So make sure you add very less water at a time and gently do the work. The intention is to make the powder wet so that it can be steamed. In a puttu maker add sufficient water and keep it for boiling. In the long puttu maker carefully place the perforated disk.

Now add a little coconut and the wet rice powder. Make sure you add only a little rice powder and fill it with a little coconut. The puttu will have two to three layers of coconut and rice powder. Allow the puttu to cook in the puttu maker for about 6 to 7 minutes. Once cooked you can see stem is coming out of the top of the vessel. Using the puser carefully remove the puttu from the vessel. Keep it in a hot casserole till you serve the puttu.

 
Payar gravy

Ingredients

Green moong dal - 1/4 kg (soak in water)
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
salt - as required 

Coconut - 2 tbsp
green chilly - 2
ginger - a small piece

For the tadka

coconut oil - 1 sp
jeera - 1/2 tsp
red chilly - 1 broken
curry leaves - a few


Method of Preparation

Wash, soak and pressure cook green moong dal for three whistles by adding turmeric and salt and sufficient water.  Grind coconut, green chilly and ginger to coarse paste. Remove cooked green moong dal and add coconut paste to it, allow it to boil. In a small pan pour oil add jeera to splutter add red chilly. Pour it on top of the prepared green moong dal. Add curry leaves. Serve hot with puttu.

Update on 25.08.2016

I made soft rice rawa puttu using rice rawa.  Its soft and resemble same like we make back home in trivandrum.  The soaked rice will be pounded in rice Mill.  Finally I got the same texture in store bought soft rice rawa.  The process of making puttu mavu is very simple.  Take two cups of rice rawa,  sprinkle water and keep mixing it with hands.  I have add about a cup of water and little coconut water for the extra soft texture.  The rice rawa was made into moist and left for about an hour before making puttu with coconut in between.  The results are for you to see.  Super soft puttu. 

I am adding one more side dish.  Kadala curry for puttu. It require time to prepare Kadala curry.  

Kadala curry

Ingredients 

Kabuli channa/ black channa  1 cup(soak in water overnight for about 8 hours) 

Small onion about 10
Green chilli  2
Ginger a small piece 
Garlic two pods
Tomato one (optional) 
Coriander powder 1 tsp
Jeera powder 1 tsp
Tej patta 1(bay leaves) 
Saunf  a little 
Ghee or coconut oil for tadka
Coriander leaves a few
Dry kasuri methi leaves a little
Red chilli powder a little
Turmeric powder a little

In a large pressure pan add soaked channa, three cups water, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, coriander powder, salt,  Tej patta and  allow it to boil.

Make a coarse paste out of ginger, garlic, saunf,  shallots, green chilli, and tomato.  Pour little oil or ghee in a small pan add the ground masala gravy.  Let it cook till oil separate from it.  Pour this into channa.  Close the lid of pressure pan.  Allow it to  cook in slow fire for about half an hour.
For the tadka.  Add ghee into the small pan add kasuri methi and chopped coriander.  Pour this aromatic tadka on top of the prepared channa.  Kadala curry is ready to be served as a side dish for puttu.  Enjoy the delicious heavenly most favourite kerala dish as your healthy breakfast.

Rawa Kesari(Kesaribath) - Sweet

How about some sweet? Let me share with you a simple sweet. Rawa Kesari. Sunday special sweet!

Rawa Kesari(Kesaribath)

Ingredients

Sooji rawa - 1 cup
Sugar - 1 cup
hot water - 5 cups
ghee - 5 tbsp
cashew nut - 1 tbsp
Rose flavour - 2 drops
apple green/orange/yellow food colour - a pinch

Method of Preparation

In a thick bottom pan, (I used pressure cooker pan) add rawa and 1 tbsp ghee. In high flame keep roasting the rawa till it release aroma. In another vessel or electric kettle allow water to boil. Slowly add one cup at a time hot water and keep stirring the rawa. Check whether rawa is evenly cooked and is soft. Now add a spoon of ghee and continue stirring. Its now time to add sugar, if you find it difficult to stir in high flame you can reduce the heat and continue stirring as the sugar will melt and start sticking the bottom of the pan. So make sure you keep stirring the dish adding a little ghee at a time. Allow the rawa to completely absorb sugar and you will notice by now the kesari is slowly becoming thick and non sticky. Now add rose flavour and green colour.  (I used green colour to give Kesari a different look)

 In a small pan pour a little ghee add cashew nut and fry till golden brown. Add to the kesari bath and continue stirring. You will notice the ghee is getting separated from the kesari bath and you now can fold it very smooth. Turn off the stove. Allow the kesari to reach room temperature. Serve as a desert. 
Do post your comments.